Software programming and consultancy services market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 2,422 supply contracts for software programming and consultancy services through award notices on TED; the 1,970 of them that state a value (81.3%) add up to €3.96 billion.

  • Since November 2023, 2,791 companies have won 7,140 public supply contracts for software programming and consultancy services in 30 European countries, in 4,150 award notices from 2,189 public buyers.
  • 3% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 9.7% of all awards across Europe.
  • 41.3% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Software programming and consultancy services market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/722-software-programming-and-consultancy-services, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 722 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
7.1K
in 4.2K award notices
Awarded value
€9.3B
from 83% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
2.8K
with at least one award
Public buyers
2.2K
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 6060Nov–Dec 20232024: 1,6371,63720242025: 2,4222,42220252026: 3,0213,0212026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 202360
20241,637
20252,422
20263,021
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €34.7M€34.7MNov–Dec 20232024: €2.6B€2.6B20242025: €4B€4B20252026: €2.7B€2.7B2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€34.7M
2024€2.6B
2025€4B
2026€2.7B
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Cities, regions and central administration: 2,767
  2. Hospitals and health services: 1,640
  3. Economic affairs: 1,470
  4. Universities, schools and research: 328
  5. Police, fire services and prisons: 254
  6. Electricity utilities: 210
  7. Urban transport operators: 112
  8. Environment and waste: 78
  9. Other281
    Other: 281
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Cities, regions and central administration2,767
Hospitals and health services1,640
Economic affairs1,470
Universities, schools and research328
Police, fire services and prisons254
Electricity utilities210
Urban transport operators112
Environment and waste78
Other281
Contracts by buyer country
  1. Poland1,629
    494 companies
    Poland: 1,629
  2. Denmark1,296
    272 companies
    Denmark: 1,296
  3. Czechia1,219
    319 companies
    Czechia: 1,219
  4. 312 companies
    Spain: 593
  5. 336 companies
    Germany: 470
  6. 159 companies
    Romania: 357
  7. 84 companies
    Slovakia: 239
  8. 125 companies
    Sweden: 220
  9. 121 companies
    France: 178
  10. 65 companies
    Greece: 147
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
Poland1,629
Denmark1,296
Czechia1,219
Spain593
Germany470
Romania357
Slovakia239
Sweden220
France178
Greece147
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 22.1%, Medium-sized 12%, Small 14.9%, Micro 3%, SME (size not stated) 24.8%, Size not stated 23.3%Large companies: 1,581 (22.1%)22%Medium-sized: 854 (12%)12%Small: 1,062 (14.9%)15%Micro: 212 (3%)SME (size not stated): 1,770 (24.8%)25%Size not stated: 1,661 (23.3%)23%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • Micro
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies1,581 · 22.1%
Medium-sized854 · 12%
Small1,062 · 14.9%
Micro212 · 3%
SME (size not stated)1,770 · 24.8%
Size not stated1,661 · 23.3%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. United Kingdom29
    United Kingdom: 29
  2. Germany29
    Germany: 29
  3. Sweden15
    Sweden: 15
  4. Netherlands14
    Netherlands: 14
  5. Czechia13
    Czechia: 13
  6. Poland13
    Poland: 13
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
United Kingdom29
Germany29
Sweden15
Netherlands14
Czechia13
Poland13

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

97%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 97%

216 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

9.7%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 9.7%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

41.3%

Lots with a single bid: 41.3%

Among 6.9K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Country pages

Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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Questions

How big is the software programming and consultancy services market in Europe?
In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 2,422 supply contracts for software programming and consultancy services through award notices on TED; the 1,970 of them that state a value (81.3%) add up to €3.96 billion.
How many public contracts for software programming and consultancy services are awarded in Europe?
Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 7,140 supply contracts for software programming and consultancy services in 4,150 TED award notices; the 5,910 awards with a published value add up to €9.3B.
Which countries buy the most software programming and consultancy services through public tenders?
Poland (1,629 awards), Denmark (1,296 awards), Czechia (1,219 awards) lead; 2,791 companies won at least one award across Europe.
How often do foreign suppliers win software programming and consultancy services contracts?
3.0% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.

Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.